Caroline Kennedy Joins Call for Freedom to Marry Plank in National Democratic Platform

WASHINGTON, DC – Today Caroline Kennedy joined Freedom to Marry’s Democrats: Say I Do campaign calling for a freedom to marry plank in this year’s national Democratic Party Platform.

"There are few things in life more important than being able to marry and build a family with the person you love. This fundamental right should be available to all Americans, including gay and lesbian couples,” said Kennedy. “In our democracy we are fortunate to have elected officials at all levels of government, and courageous jurists who have put their careers on the line, to uphold the promise of equality that is as old as our Constitution, and I hope that many more will follow their example."

Kennedy, a co-chair of President Obama’s re-election campaign, served as one of two co-chairs of the 2008 vice presidential selection committee that recommended Joseph Biden as Barack Obama’s running mate.

“Freedom to Marry is proud that Caroline Kennedy has joined the growing chorus of Democratic voices in our call for a freedom to marry plank in the national Democratic Party Platform,” said Evan Wolfson, founder and President of Freedom to Marry. “Fighting for families, inclusion, opportunity, and economic security are the bedrock values in the Democratic Party’s DNA, the values at the heart of why marriage matters to loving and committed couples, gay and non-gay alike. And, happily, what’s good for families and the country is also good politics for the party.”

Today, Kennedy will present the prestigious 2012 John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award to three former justices ousted in a retention election following their ruling in the unanimous Iowa Supreme Court decision affirming the freedom to marry in Iowa.

Kennedy joins other prominent Democratic voices, including 22 Democratic Senators, the Chair of this year’s Democratic National Convention, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa; four former chairs of the national Democratic Party; now 10 co-chairs of President Obama’s reelection campaign; nine state Democratic Party Chairs; and more than 40,000 Democrats who’ve added their names to Freedom to Marry’s Democrats: Say I Do online petition. Her statement in support of a freedom to marry platform plank follows by a day Vice President Biden’s powerful and personal comments explaining how he has evolved to be “absolutely comfortable” with same-sex couples sharing in the freedom to marry and on the day U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan became the third cabinet official in the Obama administration to publicly announce his support.

***Freedom to Marry is the campaign to win marriage nationwide. We are pursuing our Roadmap to Victory by working to win the freedom to marry in more states, grow the national majority for marriage, and end federal marriage discrimination. We partner with individuals and organizations across the country to end the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage and the protections, responsibilities, and commitment that marriage brings.